Chicago.

A month ago, Jeff ran his marathon in Chicago. As much as I would like to say that i knew how he did, or saw him run at different places along the course- i did not. I spent the weekend with our dear dear friend Melanie and her family. She has two gorgeous girls who are full of energy and personality and I loved getting to see them and Mel...I hate that we have such good friends who live far away, but being able to spend 3 days together non-stop and talk non-stop just reinforces the strenght of the friendship...Mel, I love you like a sister and each time that we are together-it makes me miss you!!!Here are a few pictures of the girls having a good time- i swear, Lila and Noa could move in to our house ANY time...
We love you guys.

 

Cashiers....

Jeff, May and I on the porch..

A few weekends ago, We were invited to join Jessica, David and Georgia on their vacation to Cashiers, NC. To say that it was a great weekend would be an understatement. This was the first time that we have been on a trip as a family with friends and it was a blast. There were two other couples there with girls all around the same age as May and it was amazing seeing them all interact so well together. Not to mention that how special it was to spend so much quality time with friends. We all are so busy, and i loved getting to know the husbands better and seeing everyone on down time instead of at a party... Thank you Jessica and David for including us--it truly was a treat. Here is to next year--Love you!!!

Georgia, May and Madelyn

vent....

Ummm.. ok, I have had one of the most frusterating experiences of my life unfold over the last few months. I am not sure if you know, but i have been a life and health/securities agent for the last 6 1/2 years since my days in charlotte at the grand ole bofa....(a GREAT employer by the way). Well when i was on maternity leave, my insurance license had Continuing Education that needed to be completed for me to keep my license current. Well, since I was on Maternity leave, it was not completed with BofA. When I decided to work with my dad, i needed to complete the CE. I signed up for the courses online and completed them. Well, when you work on your own versus have someone monitor you licences for you it is a completely different world....So i completed the courses which cost A lot of money ($150) and hired a proctor to come to my house and watch me take and pass each one of the tests for $25.00 a pop. A side note, I failed one of the tests several times, so the proctor had to come back to my house so i could take the test again. All in all, i think that I spent $150 for the tests...Well, the deadline was November 1st and I did everything that I thought that I needed to before that timeframe. One thing led to another and I FORGOT to check with the SC department of Insurance to make sure that everything was Status Quo. Forward to November 2nd. I called the Department of Insurance to make sure they received all of my information.....Here is the cincher, I failed to pay a $50.00 fee, so......I LOST MY LICENSE. AWESOME..... All of that work for nothing. It may not seem like that big of a deal but when working two different jobs and juggling a 10 month old that i love- it was a lot of time and sacrifice. So I move on and have to reapply for my license as a new producer. I call and schedule the exam (65.00) and think that I can study with Jeff's books. What I did not know is that i have to pass a pre-licensing exam which I can only do with purchasing the online study guides and tests (185.00). I do this and have spent the better part of the last two weeks studying, taking tests, generally being in a really really bad mood. So the test was scheduled for today which i took off from one job (grace little school) and get a babysitter==EVA. free i know, but still time for her not to be doing what she wants. I go to take the exam, ready to go and I get to the testing site and GUESS WHAT??????? THE bad word people at the testing site had set me up under my MAIDEN NAME. you know what that means??? I can not take my test because my license doe s not match the test name...GREAT. It is about 80 degrees at the testing office, i am beyond mad and they tell me that I have to call the customer care line and fix the problem. That would be awesome, but it took me 30 minutes of waiting on hold to get through to someone, for them to only switch me back in the Que. AWESOME! Still at the site, i try to explain to the customer care lady what had happened and she gave me some serious attitude. She finally realized that the mistake was in fact theirs, but I can not take the exam because of the name not matching. But, I can call back tomorrow and reschedule for another time. Right. Two hours later, I leave Prometric realizing that I am in fact not in charge of everything and that my 2nd job is lying in the hands of these dumb=a**es somewhere in Minnesota. Whew. I feel a little better, but not until having two VERY large glasses of wine and an equally large piece of chocolate cake. Tomorrow, maybe will be a better day==I hope.

.tagged...

So, I was tagged to answer some questions by Amanda, and since I still am unsure how to link (someone please help me) to other blogs-i will try and post a link to hers later when i can focus a little better!! here it goes:

I am: an overly anxious person who struggles to keep everything in line/orderly etc.
I want: to be a better wife and mother.....
I have: an Amazing daughter and an even more AMAZING husband
I wish: that I had more energy to be as productive as I wanted to be while still maintaining a smiling face.
I hate: that I do not get to see my friends (close and far) as much as I used to (esp since we did not realize how precious that time was)
I miss: my sister in Newberry, friends in far away places and that feeling of freedom that you have when you are young and dumb-like a perfect fall day in college....
I hear: nothing! baby is sleeping and the dryer just finished it's cycle.
I wonder: what life would have been like if I did not go to college in SC.
I regret: Nothing. Everything that has happened good and bad has made me who I am today.
I am not: sugary sweet, but you always know where I stand and I am not mean.
I dance: with my husband at parties.
I sing: Constantly when I am alone.
I cry: reading some people's blogs/ during the evening news/ wherever there is a story that evokes true emotion.
I am not always: the nicest to my husband. Why are we the nicest to others and then you are grumpy with the person who means the most?
I make with my hands: flowers in the garden/ dinner.
I write: not as much as I wish.
I confuse: What is important with what can WAIT.
I need: quiet time.
I should: talk less and listen more...I am working on that.
I start: my day with coffee
I finish: the day utterly content.

If i knew how to tag i would!

Can you tell...

Which one is the pumpkin or the child? Just kidding. But she sure does fit in well doesn't she?
Maybe next year she will really enjoy the Pumpkin Patch- but as for this year--well, let's just say that she could not have cared less where she was..but hey-it is all for us now isn't it?



 

This is for Jeff.....

Bollerman that is! Thank you Jeff for continuing to purchase our little May these Furman outfits...I pray that when the time comes we will be able to send her there.........only if we can afford the tuition! :0 

Newberry...

Gaillard













Julianna
Are they not so sweet? Their progress has been nothing short of AMAZING. Both weigh almost 7 lbs...Can you believe that in a few short weeks of coming home, they have gained almost 2 pounds??? Although I have only seen them once in person (while they were in the hospital i could only see them through a window), I feel like I know what is going on at all times through talking with Anne and Mom. They are sleeping well, eating great and growing into full sized babies. I am so happy for Anne and Hugh- I know that they must feel so relieved to have a lot of the worry behind them...Remember her due date was not until November 10th!! The miracle of Modern Medicine!!! We LOVE our new baby cousins!!!



May and Lauren--






May getting some GaGa time in..... 

Slack, Slack, SLACK!!

That is what I am with my blogging. One day turns into the next, and before I know it--a month has almost passed. These are pictures taken of May several weeks ago, and now I am just getting them on the web! Things have been out of control busy--when will it EVER slow down? The sad thing is- it never will-so I just need to get used to this pace of life....

By the way- Isn't she ADORABLE?

 

8 months and counting...

I feel that I have been neglecting my child...May just turned 8 months old, and I have not written about her in forever!! She still is such a joy to be around- inquisitive, deliberate, confident, happy and strong would be how I would describe her. She is aware of EVERYTHING now. She wants to hold it, lick it-feel it. It includes but is not limited to: dirt, shoes, Stella's toys, you name it, she is exploring!!
She is crawling so well and pulling up on whatever she can balance on. The most inventive thing so far is the face of the dishwasher. She palms her way up until she is standing up...
She is feeding herself finger foods ( last night i fed her Chicken Divan casserole)---What a hit!
I guess that I am not the best at expressing how I feel about her, but she is a bright light in my life. I have to remind myself that she is not going anywhere and that she is mine for life!! That makes me so happy..now in a few years when she is a teen=hmmm, i might be singing another tune. But for now-I treasure every second with you Maisy. I love you...Mama.


 

Gaillard and Julianna

Well- The babies made their grand entrance on Sunday the 17th at 8:54 and 8:58 respectively. Alfred Gaillard Pinckney Smith was 3lbs15oz and Julianna French Smith was 4lbs1oz. Mom, Dad and the babies are doing great! Anne should be discharged from the hospital tomorrow, but the babies will be in the NICU for at least 2 weeks. They are breathing on their own and eating through a feeding tube- both of which are just HUGE for babies that we born almost 8 weeks early. God had his eyes out for these two!!


Anne holding Julianna ( i think that she looks like May)






Anne holding Gaillard ( he looks just like Hugh)










Gaillard
Julianna 

hmmmm...tasty.

Ok- so I have always heard that southern babies grow up sucking on a chicken bone and enjoying ever last second of it. I know that I was one of those babies-Jeff was one of those babies...still I was a little skeptical--but damn! May loved her some chicken bone...look below! 

I am about equality in every situation gay/straight whatever but.....

This is ridiculous. I feel stupid bringing up what celebrities say, but THESE PEOPLE ARE SO DAMN STUPID.

read on because I do not know how to link on this effectively:

Brangelina to Marry When Everybody CanFriday, September 8, 2006 2:56 PM EDTThe Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Brad Pitt, ever the social activist, says he won't be marrying Angelina Jolie until the restrictions on who can marry whom are dropped.
"Angie and I will consider tying the knot when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able," the 42-year-old actor reveals in Esquire magazine's October issue, on newsstands Sept. 19.
In the article he reflects on "fifteen things I think everyone should know."
Though Shiloh, the world-famous daughter of Pitt and girlfriend/earth mother Angelina Jolie, hogged much attention upon her birth in May, Pitt says he "cannot imagine life" without adopted children, Maddox, 5, and Zahara, 1.
"They're as much of my blood as any natural born, and I'm theirs," says Pitt. "That's all I can say about it. I can't live without them. So: Anyone considering (adoption), that's my vote."
Pitt, who plays a world traveler in the upcoming drama "Babel," subscribes to a laid-back parenting style.
"I try not to stifle them in any way," he says. "If it's not hurting anyone, I want them to be able to explore. Sometimes that means they're quite rambunctious."
Lucky kids.
"I feel it's really important to have that time to sit and talk to them," he continues. "I really like that last minute before they fade off. And always give them a heads-up before you jerk them out of something. You need to tell them, like, `You have three more minutes.'"

Tonight-Jeff took me on a date to see the movie
">Little Miss Sunshine http://alliance.zap2it.com/zap2it/code/movies_toolkit/cda/zp_mt_main_template/1,1009,332-105---52874--,00.html
---What a great movie--It has been such a long time since I have been to a movie that was this funny--and poignant. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone----

numbers....

5;45 am...time that May has been waking up in the morning
30 minutes....how long i let her cry before i go in to get/soothe her
3 number of times that she crawls up crib and thows the pacifiers over before settling in for nap/sleep
6 days that this has been happening
1 more day before i loose my HEAD!
..does she not understand that mommy and daddy NEED their sleep???

in case you were wondering....

Today I ran to the grocery for my bi-monthly I hate grocery shopping visit. While picking our food for May, I noticed the most interesting thing... Both Beech Nut and Gerber foods have a Latin/Spanish variety of food. Hmmmm....Anyway-Tonight and for the next week- May will be having recetes/latinas Mango and Guava and Guayaba y camote ( guava and sweet potato). My little multi-cultural baby.......

my husband is a good man.

Late last week I ordered a desk from Staples.com. Our old computer desk was my desk from childhood-so needless to say we needed some more space. I ordered it on Thursday and it arrived Friday. This would have been alright had it not been for the shower that i was throwing for anne on sunday...it arrived box broken and all of those pieces spewing all over my front steps. Great! just what i wanted to deal with. so my sweet husband put it together with absolutely no help from me and it is now finished and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it...and all of the space that it provides..

Thanks honey!




Jeff assembling the many pieces..37 page instruction manual.
Finished product=Yeah! 

6 month pictures...

last week-our friend Hayden came over and took some GORGEOUS pictures of May for us...(just a a side note she is super reasonable!!!)
Here are a few of my favorites..I have so many pictures of May--I just hope that our next child gets the same amount of love and attention...
Do you think that it really happens?

 

today.....

Today has been quite a family day....out the window with quiet friday afternoon- enter: mom, julia-vivian and oh...annie on the phone. that is my day.... :-)

Bananas and More

Spider #1.
Could not get a great picture b/c he is up in my tree.








After reading Amanda's blog yesterday-I had to post the pictures of my banana spiders..I love having them and secretly consider it an honor that they love my yard and have space to weave thier beautiful webs. Last year at my old house I had 9 spiders at one time. But we had several bad storms and I think only 2 matured. So now, I have 3 active spiders and 2 that have already matured and died. Enjoy!







Spider #2







Spider #3
Another view of Spider #2.

I was having a difficult time with the camera this morning...

Just as a side note- it is absolutely gorgeous outside. you can actually be out without sweating in 2 seconds...ah...85 degrees.....